Someone Mourns the Wicked
by thelibraryninja
Summary: Glinda is mourning Elphaba's death, but she is not alone. Glinda/Elphie friendship, with hints at Fiyero/Elphaba.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes:** This is my first attempt _ever_ at writing fanfiction, so please no flaming. However, I will accept constructive criticism. I do not intend for this to be taken as a Gelphie story. They're just really close friends - you know, the kind that you don't see every day. As for how long this story is going to be, frankly I don't know yet. I've still got the possible later events flowing through my mind. Rating is K+ for now, but that could change as the story develops.

**Someone Mourns the Wicked, Chapter 1**

It had been six months since the Wicked Witch of the West had met her demise at the hands of Dorothy Gale, a little girl from a place called "Kansas". All of Oz was, except for one, was celebrating.

Glinda stood alone in her bedroom, staring at a simple white pedestal. Upon the pedestal, sat a very old book, the Grimmerie, and at its base sat a tattered black hat. She picked up the Grimmerie and clutched it to her chest. Tears came to her eyes as she slumped to the floor. Glinda didn't care that she was crying so freely, as she was alone and therefore no one would see her in such a state. But but there was someone else in the room, hiding silently in the shadows.

_I don't care that the Ozians want me to make an appearance today and comment on today's anniversary. I can't bring myself to do it. Even though I am alone in this, I will mourn her death. She was my best friend and I won't pretend that she was anything else._

A figure, dressed completely in black, watched Glinda weep from the shadows. It stood there for a moment before emerging from the shadow that was its hiding place. The figure slowly approached the weeping Glinda, trying not to make a sound. Though, through their best efforts, Glinda heard the figure's footsteps. Assuming it was one of her guards, Glinda didn't bother looking up.

"Leave me. Your presence isn't needed." Glinda barely managed to keep her voice from cracking as she issued her command.

The figure quickly stopped, fearing that Glinda would turn around and see its face. But upon realizing that Glinda was far too upset to look upon her intruder, the figure continued forward until it stood directly behind the weeping Glinda . The figure placed a gentle hand on Glinda's shoulder.

Startled by the sudden contact, Glinda flinched slightly. No one ever touched her like that… at least, not anymore.

"I said leave me…" Glinda couldn't finish before she was cut off by the figure behind her.

"Glinda."

Glinda's head shot up at the sound of the voice that had so gently said her name. Something about it seemed familiar, like a person, no a friend, from her past. But then again, that person was dead, and today was the anniversary of her death.

"Glinda," the figure said again.

Upon hearing the voice call her name again, Glinda slowly stood up and set the Grimmerie back on its pedestal. She stood for a moment with her back still facing her intruder. The figure watched Glinda, its hand still on her shoulder. It hesitated before gently forcing Glinda to turn around to look upon its face.

"Glinda. . . it's me. . ."

A look of shock came across Glinda's face as she looked at the person standing in front of her. _It - it can't be. . . It's just not possible. . ._

"El-Elphie?" Glinda's voice quavered as she uttered the figure's name.

The figure remained silent, but then a smile appeared on its face.

"Yes, it's really me Glinda. I'm alive."

"But…but how did you survive that night with Dorothy. I thought that she threw a bucket of water on you and…"

Elphie smirked slightly, though not in a cruel way, at Glinda's confusion.

"What she threw on me was not water, but a very thin oil. Did you really think that someone who is allergic to water would just leave a bucked full of it sitting around?"

The smirk and the sarcasm she had received was enough to convince Glinda that the person standing before her truly was her best friend and not an imposter. She took a step forward and threw her arms around her thought to be dead friend. Caught off guard by Glinda's sudden display of affection, Elphie froze at first before wrapping her arms around her friend, her best friend.

"Oh Elphie! I've missed you so much!" Glinda said through her sobs that were now worse than before Elphie had made herself known.

"I know and I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you sooner that I was alive, but I-I couldn't. I had some… things I had to take care of first."

Elphie and Glinda stood together in an embrace they both had for so long desired to feel again. Eventually, Glinda pulled away and looked Elphie in the face once again.

"I still don't understand how you were able to plan all of this. How did you know that Dorothy was coming to kill you?"

Elphie paused for a moment. She didn't know how to tell this to Glinda, but knew that she deserved. . . no needed to know that he was alive as well.

"Fiyero warned me that they were coming."

"Fiyero!? But I thought he was dead!"

"No, he isn't dead. I was able to save him before the Gale Force killed him. But unfortunately, I turned him into something inhuman," Elphie said before looking away towards the floor.

"Where are you going with this Elphie? What do you mean, 'inhuman'?"

Elphie sighed. She was hoping that Glinda would figure out what she was hinting at.

"Fiyero… Fiyero is the scarecrow that was accompanying Dorothy. He sent me a letter warning me that they were coming to kill me," Elphie said without removing her gaze from the floor below her.

"Is there any way he can be returned to normal?" At this remark, Elphie lifted her eyes off the floor and returned her gaze towards Glinda.

"Glinda, you know as well as I do that there is no reversing a spell. He's like this forever now. Yet, despite what I did to him, he's happy. Happy to be alive… and even more happy that I am alive as well and that we are together."

Elphie smiled slightly, though there was still a hint of sadness in her voice. Glinda barely caught it, but it was there nonetheless. Glinda placed her hand on Elphie's shoulder, like she had done to her not long ago.

"What's wrong Elphie? You're alive and you can be with Fiyero…" Glinda trailed off.

Tears began to well up in Elphie's eyes. Glinda saw them coming and wiped them away before they could burn her. She knew that something had to be wrong. Elphie _never_ cried. Elphie flinched at the contact. No one ever touched her like that. . .at least no one other than Fiyero.

"What's the point of being with the man I love if I can't be near my best friend?" Elphie said as her voice cracked.

Seeing how distraught Elphie was, Glinda led Elphie over to her bed and sat her down before pulling her into another gentle embrace. She hated seeing her friend this upset.

"Elphie, you and Fiyero could always come back to Oz. . ."Glinda gently said as she hugged the clearly distressed Elphie.

"I'm supposed to be dead. I can't just reappear and hope that everyone will treat me differently. Even though everything they've been told about me is a lie, they're never going to see me as anything other than the Wicked Witch of the West."

As this, Glinda giggled slightly. Elphie looked back up at Glinda with a confused expression on her face.

"We'll just see about that. You stay right here. I have something I need to take care of."

Glinda walked out the door, leaving an even more confused Elphie sitting on the foot of her bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author notes:** This chapter is shorter than the previous, but fear not, things are developing into something that I hope will be interesting. I still don't know how long this thing is going to end up being, but my best guess right now is 5 chapters. And last, but not least, Fiyero will appear in later chapter(s) instead of just being referred to.

**Chapter 2**

Elphie watched as Glinda closed the door behind her and continued to stare long after Glinda had left.

_What is she thinking? There's nothing she can do… Fiyero and I can never come back to Oz for good. I've risked everything by coming here today. Maybe it was a mistake… maybe it would have been better to let Glinda think that I'm dead… No… She's my best friend, I had to come here… _

Elphie sat lost in her thoughts before finally snapping out of it. Realizing that she could easily be waiting quite a while for Glinda to return, Elphie looked around the room to fully take in her surroundings. The first thing here eyes came to was the pedestal holding the Grimmerie and her old hat sitting at its base. She walked over and picked the hat up off the floor.

"She kept this…" Elphie murmured to herself. She still had to be careful that no guard heard her. She was in Glinda's private quarters after all. Elphie contemplated putting the hat back where she found it, but instead placed it on her head in the same way as she used to wear it.

Elphie turned away from the pedestal and saw that there was a desk sitting the corner of the room. The desk was covered with a strange assortment of papers and who knows what else. But there was one thing in particular that caught Elphie's eye. A large file sat apart from the mess that covered the top of the desk. In Glinda's light handwriting, there was a note regarding the file's contents.

_"From the logs of the Wizard" How did Glinda get her hands on something like this?_

Elphie's curiosity finally got the better of her. She opened the file and began to reads the papers that filled it. Most of the contents was useless information that she already knew – how he had tricked her into reading that accursed spell from the Grimmerie and proceeded to turn all of Oz against her. The last piece of paper, the final log the wizard had written before is sudden and unusual departure, an account of her supposed demise, and something that shattered Elphie's world.

One the final note was an account of how Glinda has gone to the Wizard after her "death". Of how she had handed him a small green bottle and said that it was Elphie's – a small momento of her mother…of the shock that came across the Wizard's face as he pulled an identical green bottle from his jacket… and of his realization that he had a hand in the death of the daughter he never knew he had.

_No… it-it can't be… the Wizard… the Wizard is my father!?_

Shaking from the shock of what she had just read, Elphie hastily stumbled back to the bed and sat down, staring at the words before her. She was in such a state of shock, that she didn't hear the door open. Glinda walked through the door and saw that Elphie hunched over, still shaking.

"Elphie? Elphie are you alright?"

After getting no response, or even an acknowledgement that she had been heard, Glinda walked over to the bed and sat down beside Elphie. She glanced up at Elphie's face and noticed that she seemed to be staring at something. Her eyes wandered down to what Elphie was holding in her hands. Seeing that it was one of the Wizard's logs, Glinda let out a small gasp.

"How long have you known?" Elphie whispered, though barely audibly.

"Since the day we all thought you died." Glinda responded, while gently placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Why do you have these Glinda? What good can come from these?"

"Don't you see Elphie? These logs, combined with my newfound political power and respect among the people are all that's needed to clear your name."

"I already told you Glinda, I don't want you to try to clear my name…"

Something inside Glinda snapped. She stoop up and moved so that she was directly in front of Elphie and snatched the papers from her hands. Elphie and raised her eyes to the person standing in front of her. What she saw in Glinda's eyes was something Elphie had never seen before – anger.

"Enough Elphie! Do have any idea how hard these past six months have been for me? I thought I'd lost my best friend that night. Every night, Elphie! Every night I have horrid dreams about that day."

"Glinda, I-."

Glinda's face softened as she crouched down in front of Elphie before taking her green hands in her own.

"You gave up virtually everything you had; now _please_ let me do this."

Shocked by Glinda's sudden outburst and pleading, Elphie couldn't do anything but stare at Glinda. She had never seen such determination coming from Glinda before.

_She's so determined to help me…_

But upon seeing the pleading look that was hidden behind the determination, Elphie realized that there was probably no stopping Glinda. She was going to do this no matter what her response was. Elphie realized that what Glinda was truly looking for was her approval. She looked back at Glinda with a slight smile.

"If it means that much to you… all right. I'll let you do this."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Notes:** This chapter, for some reason, was a lot harder for me to write than the previous two. Not much happens in this chapter, but the pace will pick up in chapter 4.

**Chapter 3**

Glinda let out a high-pitched squeal and flung her arms around Elphie's neck in a near death grip hug. Elphie laughed lightly as Glinda squealed and after the initial shock of Glinda's death grip, returned the hug.

"It seems like you've been planning this for quite a while."

Caught off guard, Glinda pulled away from Elphie. She hadn't been expecting Elphie to catch that minor detail so easily. Glinda unconsciously began to play with her hair as she tried to come up with an explanation.

_Damn, she's not going to be happy about this. I still can't believe that Elphie is letting me do this in the first place… but to have her know that I've been planning this since what I thought was her death…_

"I… uh, well…"

"It's alright Glinda. You always were so stubborn. I should have known that you'd plan something like this regardless of what I told you."

"Ginda, before you do anything, let me contact Fiyero. He needs to know that I'm safe and what you're planning."

"Oh, oh of course." Glinda walked over to the desk and began rummaging through the piles and drawers on her desk. Elphie barely managed to suppress a chuckle as she watched Glinda search through the mess that was the desk. Piles we knocked over and things were thrown to the floor, but eventually Glinda somehow managed to find a blank piece of paper and a pen.

Elphie took the pen and paper from Glinda's hands and hastily wrote a letter to Fiyero.

_My dearest Fiyero,_

_Words cannot possibly describe how happy Glinda is to know that I, and you as well it seems, are alive. She wants to try to clear my name, and because I cannot bear to leave her, my best friend, alone again, I am allowing her to do so. Though in my heart, I am skeptical that she will be able to do anything, I cannot do this alone. As much as I hate to admit it, I am afraid. Afraid that Glinda's plan, whatever it may be, will fail. Fiyero my love, I am not strong enough to face this alone. I need you Fiyero. Please Fiyero, come back and face this with me._

_Chistery, and Glinda of course, are the only ones who know where I am. He will show you the way._

_Yours forever,_

_Elphaba_

Elphie folded up the letter and walked across the room towards the balcony attached to Glinda's bedroom. She put her fingers to her lips and let out a short whistle. A moment later, an unusual little creature – a monkey with wings, appeared on the balcony beside Elphie.

"Chistery, I want you to take this to Fiyero."

Chistery nodded in understanding before flying off towards the western sky. Elphie watched him fly off until he was nearly out of sight.

"He's flying off towards the west…"

"Of course he is." Elphie looked over her shoulder at Glinda, smirking. "Don't you remember? I told you once that if anyone cared to find me that they should look to the western sky."

"And you really expected that I, a _blonde_, would take everything you said literally _and_ seriously?"

"Ooh, aren't we the sarcastic one today."

"Sarcastic!? Moi? I think not!"

Elphie couldn't help but snort at Glinda. Glinda rarely made any attempt at sarcasm, but on the rare occasion that she did, she was surprisingly good at it.

"Alright, alright enough with the sarcasm battle – you know you wouldn't stand a chance against me anyway. Why don't you explain this little plan of yours so I'm not completely in the dark regarding whatever it is that you're going to do.

Glinda explained her plan to Elphie, which was surprisingly thought out and detailed, especially coming from her. Elphie couldn't help but find herself amused by how energetic Glinda was as she explained her plan. Once she was finished, Glinda plopped down on the bed beside Elphie.

"So what do you think?"

Elphie paused for a moment, taking time to think the plan over. Seeing Elphie so deep in thought, Glinda feared the worst.

_Oh dear, she doesn't like it… Now what am I going to do?_

Finally, Elphie looked over at Glinda with a warm smile on her face.

"I think… I think that it's brilliant." She opened her arms to offer Glinda yet another hug, which she gladly accepted.

Unbeknownst to Glinda and Elphie, someone had heard their entire conversation. The figure backed away slowly from the door, making sure that he did not make a sound. He did not want to be caught listening in on this conversation.

_So it seems that the rumors are true, the Wicked Witch of the West is alive… and not only is Glinda the Good helping her, she's also her friend. It looks like it will be up to me to truly rid Oz of this wickedness… and if that means getting rid of both of them, then so be it…_

**Author Notes:** Dun, dun, duun. The plot thickens! Next chapter: Who's the guy listening in? Glinda's plan springs into action!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's notes:**** After a longer leave on my part, chapter 4 is finally here. Because of the way this chapter turned out, I can say with near certainty that there are only two chapters left. . . three if I decide to do an epilogue. And as for our mysterious person that's plotting something diabolical? He/She shall make their identity known in the next chapter. Also, it's been a couple of days since the previous chapter.  
**

**The bold text towards the end of this chapter have been directly taken from the musical. It obviously goes without saying that I do not own it, hence the distinction in within the text.**

A short series of taps came from the door. Glinda stood and began to walk towards the door. As she turned to tell Elphie to hide somewhere, a look of panic crossed her face as Elphie rushed passed her to the door.

"Elphie are you crazy! You can't-."

Elphie paid no heed to her friend's confused. She quickly came to the door and flung it open before throwing her arms around the person standing there. Whoever it was, returned the hug and slightly lifted Elphie off the ground in the process.

"You came," She whispered into the person's ear.

"Of course I did. You didn't really think that I would leave you and Glinda to do this alone did you?" the obviously male voice replied.

By this point, Glinda had become completely and utterly confused. _Who is this guy and why is Elphie so glad to see him? I can't help but feel that I know him somehow. His voice is strangely familiar. . ._ She stood, patiently waiting for one of them to offer an explanation to her. Shortly thereafter, Glinda became fed up and coughed lightly to grab their attention.

"Can one of you please explain to me what is going on?"

The man gently set Elphie back on the ground, keeping his face hidden. Elphie turned to face Glinda, snickering lightly.

"Honestly Glinda, do you really have no idea who this is?"

"No. . . I don't think we've ever meet."

Taking this as a good opportunity the man stepped forward, still concealing his face.

"Oh but we have Glinda. I look quite different now, but you knew me years ago at Shiz…"

The man claiming that he knew Glinda back at Shiz meant nothing to her at first. There were so many young men there that she had known. She fidgeted awkwardly knowing that the man expected his comment to reveal his identity. It wasn't until she saw something sticking out from underneath his thick coat that Glinda finally realized who he was.

"Fiyero… is it really you…?"

"The one and only," he replied with a smirk.

Glinda slowly stepped forward, unsure of how close she should get to Fiyero. After all, they weren't a couple anymore. Elphie noticed Glinda's nervous behavior and grabbed her wrist, puller her closer to the two of them. Glinda froze when she felt a pair of strong arms pull her into a gentle hug.

"It's good to see you too Glinda. I hope you bear no hard feeling about what happened between us. I still do love you, but only as a friend or sister."

Fiyero's words shocked Glinda. She had never guessed that he would be as happy to see her as she was to see him. Not only that, but that he still cared for her, even if it wasn't in the way he used to.

Stepping back, Glinda looked Fiyero in the face, carefully thinking out her response.

_He still cares for me… though it isn't in the way he did back at Shiz. Am I still in love with him like I was? No… no not anymore… he's just a friend now… perhaps one day he'll feel like a brother to me too…_

"At first… I did… but now that I can truly see how happy you make each other… I have no reason to be mad…"

Both Fiyero and Elphie's faces brightened as Glinda said those words. They both were afraid that Glinda still bore some romantic feelings for Fiyero and that she was still upset about his decision to leave with Elphie at what seemed so long ago. Elphie was first to break the silence that was beginning to become uncomfortable.

"Glinda, you have no idea how happy we are to hear that. We were so afraid that you would still be upset about what happened…"

"Oh hush. That's in the past and it's long time that I put it behind me. The important thing now is getting ready for tomorrow."

~ The next morning ~

The week-long celebration of the Wicked Witch of the West's "death" was nearing it's conclusion. Glinda had carefully planned out her announcement to end on the final day of the celebration so that no one would believe it to be a cruel trick that someone was playing on the Ozians. Nonetheless, it did nothing to help calm Elphie's nerves. She was nervously pacing back and forth, waiting for Glinda to finally emerge from her bathroom.

"Elphie, will you calm down already? Everything is going to be fine."

"I can't help but worry, Fiyero. Glinda is risking _everything_ by doing this. What if this doesn't work? If the Ozians turn against her like they did me…"

"They won't. Glinda is the highest in authority now. Not only that, but they practically worship the ground she walks on."

"But only because of what they believe happened between us and the Wizard…"

By this point, it was obvious that Elphie was quite distressed over the idea of Glinda loosing everything. Fiyero was just about to cross the room to comfort her, when Glinda finally emerged from the bathroom.

"Elphie, I told you already that I know the risks involved and that I don't care about what they think of me after this is over. You… no both of you are far too important to me to let the Ozians continue believing the Wizards lies."

Elphie seemed to relax a bit after hearing Glinda confirm her dedication to the plan. Glancing out the window, Glinda realized that she was pushing being late.

"We've got to go! They're expecting me to appear soon. You two sneak out the back door and wait in the shadows. You'll know when to appear."

Elphie and Fiyero watched as Glinda conjured her traditional mode of transportation and waited for her to leave before quietly exiting the room and making their way down the stairs. Glinda had conveniently given all the guards in her home the day off so that Elphie and Fiyero could make their way out unnoticed. Upon exiting the door, they realized that there was a stage just around the corner.

"I guess that's where we're supposed to go," Fiyero whispered. "But where is Glinda."

Elphie turned around silently and pointed to something above them. When Fiyero looked up, he saw a small blue bubble floating in the direction of the stage.

**No one mourns the Wicked**

**No one cries "They won't return!"**

Glinda flinched as the all-to familiar words reached her ears. She'd always hated that dreadful song. As Glinda slowly floated down to the stage in her trademark bubble, the crowds cheers rose to meet her. She daintily landed on the stage below her and began to greet the Ozians that were crowding to get close to her.

**"Glinda, is it true you were her friend?"** a voice called from the crowd.

As soon as the voice uttered the question, the crowd became deathly silent, waiting for Glinda's response. Without any hesitation, Glinda gave them her response.

"Yes."

**Author's notes:**** Dun, dun, duun! How will the Ozians react? Will Glinda sucessfully clear Elphie's name? Find out in the next chapter (or two).**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:**** Alright, so after a rather lengthy break, I have returned with chapter 5. I must say though, this story is developing in ways that I hadn't been initially planning. That being said, I know I said in the last chapter that there would be two more chapters, putting this story at a total of 6 chapters. But now from the way I've been letting this story go, I can say with absolute certainty this time that there will be more than 6 chapters. How may exactly, I have no idea. I'm letting my instincts and inspiration lead the way.**

**Chapter 5**

A collective gasp came from the crowd as they heard Glinda's response. They began to murmur amongst themselves about how they couldn't believe this to be true, how some thought that Glinda was joking, about how Glinda wouldn't make up something like this, about how Glinda had never lied to them before.

Glinda stood with a calm expression on her face before the crowd. Glinda had expected that she would fall into a fit of nerves as things progresses, but she had surprised herself by remaining so calm. _This is for Elphie. I have to remain calm for her. This is for Elphie. _She continually heard herself thinking as the crowd became more distressed.

"Glinda, how can this be true? How is it possible that you could have been friends with someone so wicked?"

Glinda flinched slightly as she heard the question, though it was not because the question was asked. She knew that someone would ask sooner or later. It was the emphasis the asker put on wicked that bothered her.

"She has a name, you know. It's Elphaba and from now on that is how you will refer to her."

Glinda proceeded to tell the story of how they came to be friends, their trip to the Emerald City, everything except for the part about the Wizard being Ephie's father. Most importantly, Glinda told them about how Elphaba wasn't actually wicked and that everything surrounding it was a lie.

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves. Glinda couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but she knew what they were talking to each other about. She knew they were skeptical, perhaps even completely doubting what she had just told them. Which is exactly why Glinda had come prepared.

"I have here a file containing some of the former Wizard's logs. Everything I just told you is verified by these records, which I will be making available to you all soon."

Most of the doubters in the crowd seemed to accept the file as enough proof that Glinda was indeed telling the truth, but there were still some in the crowd that did not believe Glinda's story.

Ephie and Fiyero had been quietly watching all of this from the shadows. Several times, Elphie wanted to run, to leave again, but Fiyero held her there. Upon seeing and hearing that there was still some disbelief in the crowd, Fiyero realized that it was time for him to make his appearance.

"I think that's my cue to go up there."

"What!? Are you sure? I thought that Glinda had meant for us to go up there together…"

Seeing the fear and panic appear in Elphie's face, Fiyero pulled her into a gentle hug. He held her until he felt Elphie relax slightly before whispering in her ear.

"I know this isn't how you were hoping this would happen. But I feel that Glinda needs me up there now. We'll calm the crowd enough

Elphie nodded slightly to acknowledge that she understood. Fiyero gently kissed her check before letting her go and leaving their hiding spot. He quickly approached the stage and once he began to ascend the stairs, he made his presence known.

"What Glinda says is true."

The crowd became silent once again as they heard a male voice supporting Glinda's story. Once Fiyero reached the top of the stairs, the crowd gasped once again when they saw that it was the Scarecrow. Glinda looked behind her to see Fiyero standing behind her. She mouthed a quick "thank-you" to him before turning back to face the crowd.

"Scarecrow, how can you be agreeing with Glinda?"

"I'm agreeing with her because Elphaba saved my life." Fiyero stated simply.

"The Witch saved your life? I don't believe it," called a voice from the crowd.

"I speak the truth. She saved my life by turning me into a scarecrow.

"And just who _exactly_ were you before you became a scarecrow?" another voice called from the crowd.

Fiyero paused for a moment before letting out an audible sigh. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to reveal this piece of information about himself.

"When I was human, you knew me as the Winkie Prince, Fiyero Tiggular."

Knowing that the crowd wouldn't believe his statement without some sort of proof, Fiyero pulled a medallion on a heavy chain, the symbol of his royalty, from one of his pockets. Seeing that he appeared to have the crowd's attention and that they were accepting what he had to say so far, Fiyero continued.

A more alert member of the crowd finally noticed that Glinda and Fiyero were not talking about Elphie in the past tense like she should be doing. After all, she was dead. Wasn't she?

"Glinda, why do you talk about the Wicked Wi – Elphaba as if she is still alive?"

Glinda paused and inhaled deeply. She looked over at Fiyero, who simply nodded in return. The look in Glinda's eyes was enough for him to know exactly what Glinda was silently asking him.

"The truth is, what we believed to have happened at Elphaba's castle is a lie. Dorothy didn't throw a bucket of water on her. Elphaba didn't die that day. She is alive and is here with me."

Elphie took that as her cue and climbed the stairs to the stage.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author notes: Yeah, I know it's been a really long time since I updated - college, graduate school prep, work, personal life - you get the picture. But anyway I am back and I have no intention of abandoning this story. This chapter does bring in a couple references to the book, how exactly I'm not saying here because that would be a massive spoiler. Things are finally starting to heat up and we finally see the return of the evil dude from chapter 3! **

**Enjoy!**

The crowd stared in silence as they watched a woman dressed in black with a familiar black hat appear on the stage and walk towards Glinda. They could see from the green hands that it was the witch, but no one dared say anything. After all, she did have magical powers and was thought to be evil for so long. Glinda pulled Elphie into a brief hug, which Elphie returned much to the surprise of the crowd. Elphie pulled away from Glinda and turned to face the crowd, fidgeting slightly.

"I can see that you all are clearly surprised that I am alive and standing in front of you. I am here because Glinda, my _best_ friend, convinced me to let her reveal the truth to you. You have been asking her questions about me and what really happened, and most of you seem to believe her. But I can sense that there is still some confusion and uncertainty among you. Because of that, I will answer any question that you ask me."

Elphie stood looking out across the crowd as they took in what she had said. The crowd stood in stunned silence as Elphie stood with a look across her face the crowd hadn't been expecting of the supposed Wicked Witch of the West. To put it simply, Elphie was nervous and the crowd could easily see that.

Standing at the back of the crowd, a man dressed in dark clothes and wearing a large hat was quietly watching everything that had taken place. He smirked and moved forward slightly into the crowd. He knew that he needed to be hidden amongst the crowd when he voiced his question.

_It looks like it's time to put my plan into action. As long and Elphaba reacts in the way that I'm almost positive she will, I will be able to get rid of her for good this time._

"If you truly aren't evil, like you claim to be, then why have people died because of what you have or haven't done."

"I have never killed anyone."

"And I did not say that you did… directly. What about your father and sister? They were alive and well until you were declared wicked by the Wizard."

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves upon hearing this accusation. The belief they had put in Glinda's words was slowly beginning to fade. They knew that a good person would never kill anyone or cause anyone to be killed.

"How – how do you know about them?"

"I have every reason to know about them, which I will consider revealing after you answer my question."

_What am I supposed to do now? How can this man know that the Wizard's accusations are connected to Nessa's and father's deaths._

Elphie stood, lost in her own confusion and the questions this man was throwing at her. She knew that the crowd would ask her some difficult questions, but not like this. Growing impatient, the man decided that he needed to subtly reveal his identity to Elphie in a way that only she would recognize.

"You still haven't answered my question, _Fabala_."

Elphie paled, or at least did whatever her equivalent would be. Being called that name after so many years was not something she was expecting. She glanced over at Elphie, hoping that she would receive some sort of an explanation, but instead saw a very pale and obviously confused Elphie standing next to her.

_The only people who would know to call me that, excluding Fiyero, are dead. No…there is someone else who could know… but it can't be him… we haven't seen each other since we were children…_

"Elphie? Elphie what's wrong?"

Fiyero was still standing off to the side of the stage. He could see that something about this man in the crowd was clearly bothering her. He moved to stand next to Elphie to provide her with some non-verbal support, but also so that he could be near her if something were to happen.

The man, seeing Elphie's obvious distress decided that this would be a good opportunity to make his way towards the stage. He wanted to clearly see the look that would cross her face when he revealed his identity. As he worked his way through the crowd towards the stage, Elphie quite visibly tensed. Fiyero reassuringly squeezed her hand and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was that he whispered calmed Elphie down, though only for a short time.

The man from the crowd finally reached the foot of the stage, his identity still a mystery due to the large hat obscuring is face. He stood, unmoving for a moment feeling Glinda, Fiyero, and Elphie's eyes on him. Finally, he removed the hat and lifted his head so that he was looking Elphie directly in the eyes.

Once the man made eye contact with her, Elphie began to shake. This truly was the last person she had expected to confront her like this. After all, he was "close" to her, if you could call it that.

"It – it's not possible. It can't be you…"

"Oh but it is dear Fabala. I'm exactly who you think I am," the man sneered.

"Elphie, who is this?"

Elphie looked at Glinda with a look in her eyes that Glinda had never seen before. Fear. Instantly, Glinda became worried about who this man standing below them and how he knew Elphie. She had never seen Elphie afraid of anything before. Elphie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but to no avail.

"His name is Shell… he is my brother."

**Author notes: Yep, the evil guy really is Elphaba's brother. But why is he evil and what does he have against his sister? Find out in the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author Notes: Yeah, I know it's been forever since I updated this. The usual of real-life stuff and writer's block got in the way and I had to put this on hold until I got things straightened out. I know I was horrible leaving for so long with a cliff-hanger, so I hope this chapter makes up for it.**

**Chapter 7**

"Your brother!? But, Elphie you haven't seen him in years. How do you know it's him?"

"Glinda, the only ones who know to call me that are members of my family and Fiyero. He can be no one else."

Shell stood, sneering at his so-called sister. Regaining most of her composure, Elphie took a semi-confident step towards her younger brother. She feared that he was planning something, but tried her best to not show it.

"What do you want Shell?"

"It's just one little thing, really. I want you to leave Oz, this time forever."

"No. I left once. I'm not leaving again."

Everything was going according to Shell's plan. He knew that his sister would not do what he wanted easily, and that a little force would be required. Smirking, Shell closed the distance between himself and his sister.

"It seems you leave me no choice then," he whispered into her ear, before he stepped away and began to walk over towards Glinda.

_No choice… what's he talking about…?_

Realization dawned up Elphie, and she paled. She knew what Shell was talking about. She also knew that this wasn't going to end well.

Glinda had been doing an excellent job of hiding her fear of Shell up until this point. But when she saw him walking towards her, still sneering, and a visible pale Elphie standing behind him. She knew that something was wrong. She kept her eyes on Shell when he got a bit to close for comfort. When he disappeared from her line of vision behind her back, she had a feeling that something was wrong. . . and she was right.

Without any real warning, Glinda felt Shell's arm tightly encase her neck and something sharp poking her stomach. She looked down and saw that it was a dagger, and suddenly it all made sense.

"Don't even bother calling for your guards," Shell whispered into her ear. "All of them here today are working for me."

Shell signaled the guards among the now fear-ridden crowd to make their way towards the stage. He could have anyone in the crowd suddenly gain courage and rush the stage.

"I'll tell you once again: leave Oz forever, Elphaba. If you don't, I will kill Glinda the Good."

"Shell, why are you doing this?"

Enraged to the point of shaking, Shell tightened his grip on Glinda and glared at Elphie.

"It's because of you that they're gone. It's your fault that mother, father, and Nessa are dead."

"Shell, you can't blame me for mother's death. It's not my fault that father over-reacted to me being green and took drastic measures to prevent it from happening again to Nessa. Father and Nessa died because of the lies Madame Morrible spread about me. None of those things that were told about me are true."

Shell continued to glare at Elphie and tightened his grip on Glinda. Elphie wasn't giving in yet, and that was not something he had planned on. He was hoping that she would give in the moment Glinda's life was at stake.

Little did Shell know, but Elphie was planning something. It was risky, not to mention dangerous, but if it worked, she wouldn't have to leave Oz again and Glinda would be safe. Elphie looked from Fiyero to Glinda, trying to signal that she had an idea, hoping that they would understand, and that Shell would not catch on. Luckily, Fiyero and Glinda both knew Elphie well enough to know the look she gave them and they both subtly acknowledged it.

Quietly, Elphaba began to chant a spell. Unbeknownst to Shell, there was a long piece of extra rope snaking its way towards him. He didn't realize what was happening until he felt something tightening around his ankles. Before he could do anything to stop it, the rope had completely bound his legs together.

"What are doing to me, Fabala!?"

"Stopping you," she replied with a smirk.

Using Shell's distraction to her advantage, Elphie darted forward and pulled Glinda from Shell's grasp. She quickly looked Glinda over to make sure she was uninjured and was relieved to find that she wasn't.

Before the bindings completely restricted his movements, Shell made one last attempt to accomplish something. He altered his grip on the dagger and threw it at Glinda's back. Elphie saw Shell doing something with the dagger and reacted.

Realizing that Shell, was trying to do something, Fiyero lunged forward and pinned Shell to the stage floor as the bindings completely restrained him. He hoped that he'd gotten there in time, but when he looked to Shell's hands, he began to panic. Fearfully, he looked over to Elphie and Glinda, hoping, praying that they were all right.

Confused by why she was suddenly facing the other direction, Glinda looked over to Shell and saw that he was completely restrained, yet had a victorious smirk upon his face. Glinda looked up into Elphie's face, hoping for an explanation. But what she saw scared her. Elphie was breathing shallow and she looked like she was in pain.

"Glinda… I… I'm s-sorry…"

"Elphie!? What's wro-"

Glinda was cut short when she felt Elphie collapse onto her. In her back, was the dagger.

**Author Notes: Betcha didn't see that one coming. . . or perhaps you did. And yes, I am deliberately leaving this with yet another cliff-hanger. But fear not, I will not disappear for months before posting the next and final chapter. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Yeah. . . so about that whole not leaving this un-updated for months again, my bad. I had a virus eat every document file on my computer. Combining that with graduation and working two jobs, I've been a little busy to say the least. But, I did what I promised. Here's the last chapter. It's a longer than my other chapter's but I wanted to get this wrapped up for you guys.**

Unable to support Elphie against her small frame, Glinda dropped to her knees on the stage floor. She had yet to realize that there was something severely wrong and had assumed that Elphie had passed out from shock due to the events that had recently occurred. Glinda gently tried shaking Elphie awake until she noticed that the back of Elphie's frock was becoming wet. Fearing that water had somehow been thrown onto Elphie's back, Glinda looked over Elphie's shoulder and down her back, immediately paling at what she saw.

"Get a doctor here now!", Glinda frantically cried.

Upon hearing Glinda cry out, Fiyero looked up from his position atop of Shell. He knew that Elphie loved Glinda dearly, but yet he was still shocked to see that Elphie had sacrificed herself to save her best friend.

Using his status as a Winkie prince, Fiyero demanded guards report to the stage to arrest Shell.

The guards came and took Shell away to the prison where he would await his trial. Despite his obvious crime, Glinda was obligated to follow the law and give him the opportunity for a trial, whether she thought he deserved one or not. She watched as Shell was taken away and was horrified at the victorious expression he wore the entire time.

The crowd, meanwhile, had remained deathly silent. They couldn't believe that the Wicked Witch of the West had sacrificed herself to save Glinda the Good. The only answer they could come up with was that Glinda was telling the truth, for it would be impossible for someone so wicked to do something so _good_.

Finally, a doctor arrived. He faltered when he saw that the person he was called to attend to was the Wicked Witch of the West. But even through her tears, Glinda was able to level a stern glare at him. Not wanting to get on her bad side, the doctor knelt down to examine Elphie's limp form. He took one quick look at her back and realized that this was a severe wound, one that she may not survive if he didn't act quickly.

"Oh my. This is more serious than I had been expecting. She needs to go into surgery now."

"What! Is she going to be alright?"

Seeing the fear in Glinda's eyes, the doctor paused for a moment to figure out how best to tell her that the green woman may not survive.

"Miss Glinda, in all honesty I cannot say for sure. Surgery will tell me much more about the extent of her injury than I can see now."

"Then for Oz's sake do it," an even more upset Glinda yelled at the doctor.

Startled by Glinda's outburst, the doctor nodded and took Elphie's unconscious body into his arms, hurrying off to the hospital. Glinda watched the doctor leave before bursting into tears. Seeing how upset Glinda was, Fiyero knelt beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"She'll be alright Glinda. I'm sure of it," he whispered into her ear and Glinda sobbed onto his shoulder.

_Several hours later…_

Glinda and Fiyero sat at the hospital waiting for the results of Elphie's surgery.

"She's been in there for so long Fiyero. What if something's wrong?"

"Glinda, please don't worry so much. Elphaba is the strongest person you and I both know. She'll pull through this."

As if right on cue, the doctor appeared from around the corner bring the much-anticipated result of Elphie's surgery. Not wanting to startle either one of them, the doctor softly cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"Well, is she alright?" Glinda searched the doctor's face for any sort of clue from his expression, but found none.

"We discovered a few complications after removing the dagger from Miss Thropp's back and –"

"Complications! What kind of complications!"

"Glinda let the doctor finish and then you can ask him all the questions you wish."

Glinda looked at Fiyero out the corner of her eye before huffing, "fine."

"As I was saying, the complications are what caused the surgery to go longer than expected. Luckily, we were able to assess the damage and repair everything as best we could. She is still unconscious, but we expect that she will awaken soon.

"So you're saying she's going to be alright?"

"Yes Miss Glinda, we expect Miss Thropp to make a full recovery."

"I want to see her."

"Of course Miss Glinda. Let me take you to her room."

The doctor led Fiyero and Glinda to Elphie's room. Upon entering the room, Glinda immediately took the chair that was sitting next to Elphie's bed.

"I'll leave you three alone for now."

Fiyero watched quietly from beside the door as Glinda began to cry quietly and took one of Elphie's hands into her own.

"Please wake up soon Elphie. Fiyero and I have been so worried. . ." she quietly whispered to Elphie's sleeping form.

Fiyero walked up behind Glinda and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"You can't rush things like this Glinda. You know that."

Glinda nodded slightly, but continued to cry softly, never taking her eyes off of Elphie.

Over the next few days, Glinda refused to leave Elphie's side. In fact, if it weren't for Fiyero practically forcing her, she wouldn't have eaten either. Glinda wanted nothing more than to be there when Elphie finally woke up.

The lack of sleep finally got to Glinda and she fell asleep against Elphie's bed. She was gently awoken when she felt a hand gently shaking her shoulder.

". . . Fiyero? … What is it…", Glinda groggily muttered.

"Guess again Glinda", a soft voice replied.

Glinda shot up at the sound of the clearly not-male voice that had responded to her muttering and was overcome with joy when she saw a pair of dark brown eyes meeting her own.

"Elphie…"

"Glinda, where am I? What happened?"

"You mean you don't remember? Elphie… you were stabbed… by Shell. You saved my life…"

"So that wasn't a dream then?"

Glinda shook her head and flung her arms around Elphie, pulling her into a gentle hug, a hug which Elphie returned as best she could.

"I'm just so happy that you're alright. Fiyero and I have been so worried."

"Glinda, the café was out of tea so I brought you some coffee inste-"

At the sound of Fiyero's voice, both Glinda and Elphie looked towards the door, where a surprised Fiyero stood, barely able to hold onto the tray of food he had brought back for Glinda. Glinda pulled away from Elphie as Fiyero set the tray down before silently walking towards the bed.

"Fiyero…" Elphie started, but cut off by Fiyero gently pressing his lips to hers.

"Thank Oz, you're finally awake Elphaba," Fiyero whispered as he pulled Elphie into a hug.

As if right on cue, the doctor entered to check on Elphie's progress. He was mildly surprised to see Elphie awake and sitting up so soon.

"Excuse me, now that Miss Thropp is awake, I need to do a final examination before you can leave."

"I can leave the hospital today?"

"If everything looks good, yes Miss Thropp."

The doctor ushered Glinda and Fiyero out of the room so he could examine Elphie's back. Upon seeing that she was healing well, he decided that she was in good enough condition to be released from the hospital.

In the weeks after Elphie had left the hospital, Glinda had kept her well-hidden within the palace. Eventually, Elphie got sick of it and confronted Glinda bout it.

"Glinda, you still haven't told me what happened after I passed out. How did the Ozians react to everything they told you about me? Why are you keeping me hidden in the palace?"

"They, uh, reacted in a way that I wasn't expecting…"

"Wasn't expecting? Glinda you aren't making any sense."

"Just come with me. You'll understand what I mean soon."

Glinda grabbed Elphie's hand and let her to an end of the palace that Elphie had never been to before. Glinda stopped once they had reached a curtain, and upon hearing the sounds of a crowd nearby, realized that where they were.

"Wait here for just a moment."

Glinda stepped through the curtain as was met with cheering from the crowd. A moment later, she beckoned that the crowd quiet down.

"My fellow Ozians, you are all well aware of the events that happened several weeks ago. The man responsible for the commotion is in prison for what he has done and is going to be there for quite some time. But that is not why we are gathered here today."

At this, the curtains pulled back, and Glinda gestured for Elphie to join her. Tentatively, Elphie stepped out into the light and the crowd immediately silenced. Fearing that something was wrong, Elphie tried to leave, but Glinda grabbed her arm and wouldn't let her go.

"It's alright. Just wait a moment," Glinda whispered into Elphie's ear.

The silence was nearly unbearable for Elphie. Luckily, the silence was soon broken as cheering once again broke out from within the crowd. Stunned, Elphie had no idea what was going on.

"Don't you see, Elphie. They're cheering _for you_. They no longer think you're wicked. This celebration is all about you," a beaming Glinda explained.

And finally, Elphie's vision had come true. There was a celebration throughout Oz that was all to do with her.

**The End.**

**Author's note: It's finally finished. For those of you who like my work, I have general ideas for a couple of one-shots that I'll write eventually. I'm also loosely working on the plot for a long fic, but I have no idea when I'll get around to starting that.  
**


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